Archive for May, 2008

I was wondering where my arms went this morning – they certainly weren’t attached to my shoulders,…likely vacationing.

It seemed like a huge effort to activate my lats and rhomoids for the purpose of anchoring my scapulas today.Â But I was determined not to slip into poor habits.Â I reminded myself of a conversation I had with Mike Flegel last night regarding neuromuscular programming — he said you have to repeat proper motor patterns >10,000 times for it to become ingrained,…and there can’t be any mistakes along the way.Â If you faulter, the count starts again.

Just about every moment of my recent days have been spoken for.Â Â I’ve been training big and well, since a couple weeks ago, I traded my gills for land legs spending way more time in the saddle.

I’m feeling pressed for time, feeling like I need more weeks between now and Ironman Coeur D’Alene to get fit.Â This is a good sign, and I’ve always been a good crammer,…I was a previous crammer for school, now I feel this way for Ironman.Â I’m a believer in avoiding long Ironman specific training build-ups (ie. starting a heavy build 3-4 months out) as one is much more at risk of falling flat/stale/overtrained etc much easier than if you focus on staying healthy and building a pure aerobic base for much of the months leading up to the event, then start becoming serious about Ironman specific training 8 weeks out.

Working hard…my speed on the bike and run is no where close to where I want it to be.Â If all goes well, things will start piecing together.

I left the house yesterday with a scent of manure filling the air. I was in Chilliwack! It was a long day in the saddle, followed by a run, swim and core. Early into my ride I was hit with some rain,…there’s nothing quite like riding with a soggy cycling shammy (sp?) and cycling shoes/sock for the remainder of a long ride. I just though of it as swim training.

The day was epic, and I was ready for a sound sleep by the end of it.

Checking emails last night, I received word from my friend Imelda informing me that Paul Krochak was hit by a car while riding his bike about 10days ago. Poor guy sounded to be in rough shape with a list of nasty injuries – but obviously he must be okay, (obvious by the fact he felt well enough to have posted the last comment on my blog a few days ago – thanks big guy),…it really hit me to know just how vulnerable we are when were out on our bikes.

Get better soon Paul !!!! I wish you a speedy and healthy recovery !!!!